Portrait of a great teacher
By Segun Smart Ajiboye
Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Kokumo Agagu, has without doubt, applied to the letter his training as a school teacher in his style of governance
since assuming the highest office in the Sunshine State on May 29, 2003. It did not take long for discerning minds to notice the robust, respect for the rule of law and surefooted style of governance the ‘teacher’ has brought to bear on the state.
Few days in the saddle, Dr. Agagu did what a typical teacher would do- he sat down to study the level of the rot in the educational system of the state. Not even in his wildest imagination could the former university teacher have prepared himself for the level of rot in the education sector.
Education, the bedrock of any development, was in a state of coma in Ondo State. The sector, which in the past made the state a role model for others, was bedeviled by declining standard, high prevalence of examination malpractices, low morale of teachers, dilapidated structures, lack of science equipment and poor library facilities and an almost total neglect.
The result was that less than 5% of students who sat for the SSCE across the state scored credits in 5 subjects, including Mathematics and English Language. Students’ enrolment in public schools dropped. Teachers were no longer motivated to give their best as years went by without promotion for deserving members of the noble profession. Months went by without salaries. To survive, most teachers turned to either farming or trading. Training and retraining of teachers did not feature on government’s plans. There were school libraries without books, and where they existed, they are old and outdated. The state could only boast of technical colleges without technical equipment to impart the much-desired technical know-how into the students. Worst still, students took classes under the trees because the few classrooms still standing were dilapidated and unsafe. Many of the students took to truancy as alternative to studying. Teenage pregnancy became something to be proud of among our youths. Even the few teachers who were serious and dedicated enough did not have the materials to teach the few students who still found school attractive.
On assumption of office, Dr. Agagu quickly put in place machineries to arrest the ugly situation. The governor captured the problem thus: "I asked the commissioner of education to go and do an analysis of the result of our children in WAEC and NECO over the last five years. What I got was shocking. Only between two and four percent passed with five credits!"
As a former university teacher himself, Agagu and his team came up with a rescue plan tagged: RESULTS- Rescue Education for Sustainable and Lasting Transformation of Society.
Agagu, as part of the strategies to revamp education in the state, came up with the following intervention items: Improved welfare for teachers through prompt payment of salaries and allowances, promotion, car and empowerment loans, Training and Retraining of teachers, Improved inspectorate system, Payment of running grants to all schools at N60/N100 per child, Supply of text books to all school libraries, Supply of science laboratory equipment to secondary schools, supply of science kits to primary schools, Revamping the Government Technical Colleges and Incentives to teachers in rural and difficult terrains among others.
Four years on, the sun is shining on the education sector in the sunshine State once again. Teachers can afford to wear smiles again as their salaries are paid promptly. Those deserving promotion are promoted while soft loans are made available to those in need. Morale is high among the teaching and non-teaching staff in all government schools across the state. As part of its motivational packages for teachers, the state, in collaboration with UBA in 2007 granted loans worth N500 million to teachers across the state to assist them build their own homes. The gesture, according to Agagu, was to assist teachers in the state own their own homes.
"This is the beginning of better things to come the way of teachers in Ondo State", Agagu promised.
The numbers of secondary schools in the state have increased. So also is the numbers of primary schools. The technical colleges are today better equipped to face the challenges of the new millennium than ever before.
Thanks to the vision and dedication of the governor, more than 100 secondary schools have been supplied with computers with a promise that the remaining schools would soon benefit from the scheme, senior school principals have been elevated to the rank of permanent secretaries, and have been assigned bigger responsibilities as zonal education administrators.
For proper monitoring of schools, government has appointed 144 neighborhood inspectors for primary schools and 72 for secondary schools. It has also, among several other things, provided science kits to primary schools at a cost of N52million, renovation of primary school buildings at a cost of over N66.8million, provision of primary schools furniture worth N75million, provision of lockers and chairs for the 570 public secondary schools across the state at a cost of N86million, training of school teachers, principals and education managers at a cost of N69million. The students are doing well and parents are proud of their Wards’ academic achievements again.
The icing on the cake of the Agagu-led administration's efforts to revamp the ailing sector and put the state in good stead for future challenges is the establishment of a university of science and technology in Okitipupa. Academic activities in the school are billed to take off this year. The institution, aside from fast tracking the development of Ondo State, will also correct the imbalance in the distribution of tertiary institutions in the state. Dr. Agagu displayed a high sense of responsibility, maturity and magnanimity in the siting of the school in Okitipupa. Given the importance of a higher institution to its host community’s economic transformation, a more pedestrian leader would have opted for his own community as location. But for Dr. Agagu, the interest of larger society supersedes any other individual interest he might hold. This rare selfless leadership quality of the ‘teacher’ was extolled by the Chairman of the OSUSTECH Implementation Committee, Prof. Albert Lemonade, when he said:
“Dr. Olusegun Agagu must be commended for high sense of maturity and responsibility. He gave the committee a mandate, and did not question the decision to site the school in Okitipupa. Some other governor would have used his executive powers to site the institution in his home village.”
On a personal note for Governor Agagu, the signing of the bill establishing the school into law before the commencement of academic activities at the institution was in fulfillment of the former teacher’s administration’s commitment to the rule of law and the principle of due process. A sum of N2billion is being proposed as capital vote for the school in the 2008 budget.
Education in Ondo State has never had it this good. Its fortunes, which had been on the downwards slide for ages is suddenly beginning to take shape once again, all thanks to the concerted efforts of the teacher, Dr. Olusegun Agagu and his team of dedicated and committed men and women who are determined to bring back the long missing smiles to faces of the people.
Yet, Dr. Agagu is promising to do even more to secure the future of the younger generation. Hear him: "Governance is all about service to the people. It is part of the vision of this government that service to our people comes top on our agenda. The future of our children should be top priority to us, and getting them educated is our own way of securing that future."
It was part of efforts to cement that future that the Agagu-led administration committed a whooping sum of N8.311billion to the education sector in the 2008 budget. By this act, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, has proved to, even the most strident of his critics, that he is indeed committed to fulfill his promise to the people to make qualitative education and other good things of life accessible to all in the state, irrespective of class or creed.
Breakdown of the budget shows that a whooping sum of N3.234billion is earmarked for school infrastructure in 2008. The amount represents an increase of N1.664billion from 2007. While the sum of N170million was spent on the provision of complete suite of science laboratories for 228 secondary schools in the State in 2007, government is not resting on its oars as it has earmarked additional N30million to provide more science materials for more schools.
In the same vein, in the mould of a father who would go the extra mile to assure the successes of his children, Agagu is committed to the provision of more facilities in other state-owned tertiary institutions, namely Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo. For example, in pursuant of the administration’s effort to make the university one of the best in the country, a sum of N375million has been earmarked for the construction and equipment of a new Faculty of Arts and Education, while a new Faculty of Science is to be constructed and equipped at a cost of N380million in the New Year. Also, while N200million would be spent on construction of road networks, the sum of N70million would be spent to provide water and electricity for the campus.
For capital development and accreditation of courses at the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, government has set aside a total sum of N230million, while a sum of N312.4million would be spent on reconstruction of road network on the campus.
Technical and Vocational education have not been left out of the administration’s avowed determination to provide a good foundation for the state’s technological development. In this regard, government In 2007 spent a total sum of N412million on the procurement of tools, equipment, construction of workshops, hostels and other municipal services at the five Government Technical Colleges in order to meet the accreditation requirements of the National Board for Technical Education and for the upgrading of the 19 Skill Acquisition Centers in the 18 Local Government Areas of the state. For 2008, it has earmarked the sum of N230.818million for the construction workshops, laboratories, renovation and expansion of municipal services in the technical colleges.
Dr. Agagu is equally not unaware of the importance of special education to the development of the state. The State Executive Council approved the sum of N30million for the establishment of a school for the mentally retarded at Oke-Igbo. This is in addition to the existing three special schools in the state.
Students’ welfare too is also of paramount importance to the administration’s total rescue package for education in the state. A total sum of N177million was disbursed to about 4000 students of Ondo State origin in tertiary institutions across the country as bursary while the sum of N107million disbursed as scholarships to deserving students.
Going by his track records, Dr. Olusegun Kokumo Agagu is noted for keeping to his words. And, in his New Year message to the people of the state, Dr. Agagu promised a very busy and eventful year in terms of development in all “ramification”. The people of the Sunshine State are sure in for a swell time with the teacher as far as the future of education and indeed the state is concerned.
Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Kokumo Agagu, has without doubt, applied to the letter his training as a school teacher in his style of governance
since assuming the highest office in the Sunshine State on May 29, 2003. It did not take long for discerning minds to notice the robust, respect for the rule of law and surefooted style of governance the ‘teacher’ has brought to bear on the state.
Few days in the saddle, Dr. Agagu did what a typical teacher would do- he sat down to study the level of the rot in the educational system of the state. Not even in his wildest imagination could the former university teacher have prepared himself for the level of rot in the education sector.
Education, the bedrock of any development, was in a state of coma in Ondo State. The sector, which in the past made the state a role model for others, was bedeviled by declining standard, high prevalence of examination malpractices, low morale of teachers, dilapidated structures, lack of science equipment and poor library facilities and an almost total neglect.
The result was that less than 5% of students who sat for the SSCE across the state scored credits in 5 subjects, including Mathematics and English Language. Students’ enrolment in public schools dropped. Teachers were no longer motivated to give their best as years went by without promotion for deserving members of the noble profession. Months went by without salaries. To survive, most teachers turned to either farming or trading. Training and retraining of teachers did not feature on government’s plans. There were school libraries without books, and where they existed, they are old and outdated. The state could only boast of technical colleges without technical equipment to impart the much-desired technical know-how into the students. Worst still, students took classes under the trees because the few classrooms still standing were dilapidated and unsafe. Many of the students took to truancy as alternative to studying. Teenage pregnancy became something to be proud of among our youths. Even the few teachers who were serious and dedicated enough did not have the materials to teach the few students who still found school attractive.
On assumption of office, Dr. Agagu quickly put in place machineries to arrest the ugly situation. The governor captured the problem thus: "I asked the commissioner of education to go and do an analysis of the result of our children in WAEC and NECO over the last five years. What I got was shocking. Only between two and four percent passed with five credits!"
As a former university teacher himself, Agagu and his team came up with a rescue plan tagged: RESULTS- Rescue Education for Sustainable and Lasting Transformation of Society.
Agagu, as part of the strategies to revamp education in the state, came up with the following intervention items: Improved welfare for teachers through prompt payment of salaries and allowances, promotion, car and empowerment loans, Training and Retraining of teachers, Improved inspectorate system, Payment of running grants to all schools at N60/N100 per child, Supply of text books to all school libraries, Supply of science laboratory equipment to secondary schools, supply of science kits to primary schools, Revamping the Government Technical Colleges and Incentives to teachers in rural and difficult terrains among others.
Four years on, the sun is shining on the education sector in the sunshine State once again. Teachers can afford to wear smiles again as their salaries are paid promptly. Those deserving promotion are promoted while soft loans are made available to those in need. Morale is high among the teaching and non-teaching staff in all government schools across the state. As part of its motivational packages for teachers, the state, in collaboration with UBA in 2007 granted loans worth N500 million to teachers across the state to assist them build their own homes. The gesture, according to Agagu, was to assist teachers in the state own their own homes.
"This is the beginning of better things to come the way of teachers in Ondo State", Agagu promised.
The numbers of secondary schools in the state have increased. So also is the numbers of primary schools. The technical colleges are today better equipped to face the challenges of the new millennium than ever before.
Thanks to the vision and dedication of the governor, more than 100 secondary schools have been supplied with computers with a promise that the remaining schools would soon benefit from the scheme, senior school principals have been elevated to the rank of permanent secretaries, and have been assigned bigger responsibilities as zonal education administrators.
For proper monitoring of schools, government has appointed 144 neighborhood inspectors for primary schools and 72 for secondary schools. It has also, among several other things, provided science kits to primary schools at a cost of N52million, renovation of primary school buildings at a cost of over N66.8million, provision of primary schools furniture worth N75million, provision of lockers and chairs for the 570 public secondary schools across the state at a cost of N86million, training of school teachers, principals and education managers at a cost of N69million. The students are doing well and parents are proud of their Wards’ academic achievements again.
The icing on the cake of the Agagu-led administration's efforts to revamp the ailing sector and put the state in good stead for future challenges is the establishment of a university of science and technology in Okitipupa. Academic activities in the school are billed to take off this year. The institution, aside from fast tracking the development of Ondo State, will also correct the imbalance in the distribution of tertiary institutions in the state. Dr. Agagu displayed a high sense of responsibility, maturity and magnanimity in the siting of the school in Okitipupa. Given the importance of a higher institution to its host community’s economic transformation, a more pedestrian leader would have opted for his own community as location. But for Dr. Agagu, the interest of larger society supersedes any other individual interest he might hold. This rare selfless leadership quality of the ‘teacher’ was extolled by the Chairman of the OSUSTECH Implementation Committee, Prof. Albert Lemonade, when he said:
“Dr. Olusegun Agagu must be commended for high sense of maturity and responsibility. He gave the committee a mandate, and did not question the decision to site the school in Okitipupa. Some other governor would have used his executive powers to site the institution in his home village.”
On a personal note for Governor Agagu, the signing of the bill establishing the school into law before the commencement of academic activities at the institution was in fulfillment of the former teacher’s administration’s commitment to the rule of law and the principle of due process. A sum of N2billion is being proposed as capital vote for the school in the 2008 budget.
Education in Ondo State has never had it this good. Its fortunes, which had been on the downwards slide for ages is suddenly beginning to take shape once again, all thanks to the concerted efforts of the teacher, Dr. Olusegun Agagu and his team of dedicated and committed men and women who are determined to bring back the long missing smiles to faces of the people.
Yet, Dr. Agagu is promising to do even more to secure the future of the younger generation. Hear him: "Governance is all about service to the people. It is part of the vision of this government that service to our people comes top on our agenda. The future of our children should be top priority to us, and getting them educated is our own way of securing that future."
It was part of efforts to cement that future that the Agagu-led administration committed a whooping sum of N8.311billion to the education sector in the 2008 budget. By this act, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, has proved to, even the most strident of his critics, that he is indeed committed to fulfill his promise to the people to make qualitative education and other good things of life accessible to all in the state, irrespective of class or creed.
Breakdown of the budget shows that a whooping sum of N3.234billion is earmarked for school infrastructure in 2008. The amount represents an increase of N1.664billion from 2007. While the sum of N170million was spent on the provision of complete suite of science laboratories for 228 secondary schools in the State in 2007, government is not resting on its oars as it has earmarked additional N30million to provide more science materials for more schools.
In the same vein, in the mould of a father who would go the extra mile to assure the successes of his children, Agagu is committed to the provision of more facilities in other state-owned tertiary institutions, namely Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo. For example, in pursuant of the administration’s effort to make the university one of the best in the country, a sum of N375million has been earmarked for the construction and equipment of a new Faculty of Arts and Education, while a new Faculty of Science is to be constructed and equipped at a cost of N380million in the New Year. Also, while N200million would be spent on construction of road networks, the sum of N70million would be spent to provide water and electricity for the campus.
For capital development and accreditation of courses at the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, government has set aside a total sum of N230million, while a sum of N312.4million would be spent on reconstruction of road network on the campus.
Technical and Vocational education have not been left out of the administration’s avowed determination to provide a good foundation for the state’s technological development. In this regard, government In 2007 spent a total sum of N412million on the procurement of tools, equipment, construction of workshops, hostels and other municipal services at the five Government Technical Colleges in order to meet the accreditation requirements of the National Board for Technical Education and for the upgrading of the 19 Skill Acquisition Centers in the 18 Local Government Areas of the state. For 2008, it has earmarked the sum of N230.818million for the construction workshops, laboratories, renovation and expansion of municipal services in the technical colleges.
Dr. Agagu is equally not unaware of the importance of special education to the development of the state. The State Executive Council approved the sum of N30million for the establishment of a school for the mentally retarded at Oke-Igbo. This is in addition to the existing three special schools in the state.
Students’ welfare too is also of paramount importance to the administration’s total rescue package for education in the state. A total sum of N177million was disbursed to about 4000 students of Ondo State origin in tertiary institutions across the country as bursary while the sum of N107million disbursed as scholarships to deserving students.
Going by his track records, Dr. Olusegun Kokumo Agagu is noted for keeping to his words. And, in his New Year message to the people of the state, Dr. Agagu promised a very busy and eventful year in terms of development in all “ramification”. The people of the Sunshine State are sure in for a swell time with the teacher as far as the future of education and indeed the state is concerned.
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